Hearing a public interest litigation, Justices Abhay
Oka and A S Chandurkar ruled that every citizen in
India has the right under the Constitution to state that
s/he does not belong to any religion and does not practice or profess any religion. Take money and abort: Bihar panchayat tells rape victim

A panchayat in Bihar has ordered a minor rape victim to take Rs 200,000 ($3,260) and undergo an abortion to settle the issue, the police said September 24.

The victim, a seventh grade student, was ordered by
the panchayat of Subhankarpur village in Muzaffarpur
district to take the money and undergo an abortion. Bengal: Court orders criminal probe against filmstar-turned-lawmaker

The Calcutta high court September 25 ordered that a
police report be filed and a criminal probe launched
into Bengali film star-turned-Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Tapas Pal for his alleged ‘shoot and rape’
remarks against Opposition party supporters earlier
this year. Man tries to stop perverts, stabbed to death

A 34-year-old man was stabbed to death September
22 in the Mumbai suburb of Virar for trying to stop
some men who were sexually harassing a group of
schoolgirls.

While on a visit to a coaching center, Shashi Jha
noticed that five men were making lewd comments
aimed at some girls who were heading home after their
classes. Jha asked the men to stop, and they attacked
him. Two of the men had been arrested at press time. India to give UN $12 million to fight Ebola

India has announced a $12 million contribution to
the United Nations to help fight the deadly Ebola
virus in Africa.

‘India will contribute $10 million to the UN
Secretary General’s Fund for Ebola and an additional
$2 million for purchase of protective gear to tackle
Ebola,’ a spokes person for India’s external affairs
ministry said. India gets first transgender news anchor

A Tamil Nadu news channel has recruited India’s
first transgender news anchor, five months after a
court ruled that transgender people be recognized as
a legal third gender. Padmini Prakash, 31, who works
at Lotus News, said she had faced a lot of discrimination throughout her life, including being disowned by
her family. Al Qaeda entering Assam?

Days after Al Qaeda issued a video threatening to
carry out its campaign in India, Assam Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi said the terror group is trying to set up
base in the state and had a ‘tacit understanding’ with
United Liberation Front of Asom. Will take all of Kashmir from India: Bilawal

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the late Benazir Bhutto’s
only son, has said that his Pakistan People’s Party will
wrest Kashmir from India. Bilawal was addressing
party workers in the Multan region in Pakistan’s
Punjab province, September 19.

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Festive fever A man works on a pandal for Durga Puja in Kolkata, September 25. Durga Puja begins September 30. Dancers on their way to perform dandiya on the first day of the nine-day Navratri festival in Ahmedabad, September 25.